PROVO, Utah– Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk plan to call one last witness on Friday as they try to raise questions about the prosecution’s case before it can go to trial. A Utah judge is deciding whether prosecutors have enough evidence to charge Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder. Kirk,
PROVO, Utah– Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk plan to call one last witness on Friday as they try to raise questions about the prosecution’s case before it can go to trial.
A Utah judge is deciding whether prosecutors have enough evidence to charge Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder. Kirk, 31, was killed while speaking to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University on September 10.
One of Robinson’s attorneys, Michael Burt, attempted to inject uncertainty into the case Thursday by questioning the reliability of ballistics testing of a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body. Authorities attempted to link the fragment to the suspected murder weapon, but the results were inconclusive.
“Saying anything that was inconclusive was inappropriate,” said Samantha Karner of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Burt earlier in the week questioned the reliability of DNA evidence that investigators said linked Robinson to the scene. Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.
Robinson has not pleaded guilty. He surrendered a day after the shooting death of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who is credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.
The defense said it would call one final witness to testify on Friday, the last day of the week-long preliminary hearing.
However, state District Judge Tony Graf’s decision won’t come until after Sept. 1, when he scheduled oral arguments on the matter.
Prosecutors on Thursday aired portions of a taped interview with Robinson’s roommate, Lance Twiggs.
The day after Kirk was shot in the neck, Robinson allegedly told Twiggs “I wish I hadn’t done it,” a recording played in court revealed.
Later that day, and only about an hour before turning himself in, Robinson posted “that was me yesterday at UVU” in a chat room on the social media platform Discord, according to investigators and messages shown by prosecutors.
Defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of Twiggs’ statements and chat room messages. They argued that prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession, undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
Prosecutors maintain that the shooting endangered others at the Kirk campus event, an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence increases based on prosecutors’ claims that he attacked Kirk because of his political views.
Twiggs said in the April interview with prosecutors and investigators that Robinson sometimes talked about politics, including Trump. But Twiggs said she never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also didn’t talk much about gender issues or LGBTQ rights, Twiggs said.
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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
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